The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “justice” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that describes the quality or principle of fairness, righteousness, and impartiality in treating other people. A literal back-translation of the signs are “FOLLOW(God is implied) ACTIONS, DECISIONS JUST-RIGHT”. A more idiomatic back-translation would be: “actions and decisions are right/fitting/just in accordance to God’s will.” The movement in the signs itself helps to indicate that this is a noun, not a verb. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Justice” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The Hebrew in Psalm 97:2 that is translated as “thick darkness” or similar in English is translated in Kwere as “wide darkness.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Greek that is translated into English versions as “throne” is translated into Naro as ntcõó-q’oo: “he will rule.” The figure of the “throne” cannot be translated in the egalitarian Naro culture, so the idea had to be expressed more explicitly. (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
In other languages it is translated as “stool/seat of the king” (Marathi), “seat of commanding/chieftainship” (Highland Totonac, Kituba), “seat of the Supreme one (lit. of-him-who-has-the umbrella)” (Toraja-Sa’dan — the umbrella being a well-known symbol of power in various parts of South and South-East Asia), “glorious place to sit” (Ekari) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “where God sits and rules” (Estado de México Otomi), “where God reigns” (Central Mazahua) (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.), or “bed of kingship” (Kafa) (source: Loren Bliese).
In Elhomwe it is translated as “seat of the king,” unless it refers to the throne of God (such as in Matthew 19:28. Then the translation is the “seat of God.”) (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 97:2:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“Clouds and great darkness have surrounded him;
righteousness and judging justly are the foundation of his kingship chair.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“There are thick dark clouds all around the LORD,
He reigns with righteousness and justice.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“He is-surrounded by thunderclouds/[lit. thick clouds], and he reigns with righteousness and justice.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“The clouds and darkness surround him.
His chair is built by righteousness and justice.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Mawingu na giza vinamzunguka,
unyofu na ukweli,
ndiyo msingi wa kiti chake cha enzi.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“There are very dark clouds around him to hide him;
he rules righteously/justly and fairly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-za (御座), mi-kura (みくら) (Psalm 7:7), or mi-kurai (御位) (Psalm 113:5) in the referenced verses, all relating to the “throne (or: high seat) (of God)”.
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
For a similar description of the LORD’s presence as described in these verses, see 18.7-15; 50.3. In verse 2 the psalmist uses physical phenomena (Clouds and thick darkness) and moral attributes (righteousness and justice) to describe Yahweh’s reign. Clouds and thick darkness may be represented by “dark clouds”; see Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “thick clouds,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “thick dark clouds.” Clouds and thick darkness may carry meanings in the translator’s language which are not associated with the hiddenness and mystery of God’s rule. In such cases it may be necessary to make this clear in the text in order to prevent the reader from misinterpreting the expression. It will also be advisable to provide the reader with cross references such as Deuteronomy 4.11; 5.22.
The Hebrew phrase the foundation of his throne in verse 2b refers to the basis on which Yahweh’s rule is exercised; so Good News Translation “he rules with righteousness and justice”; or else, “righteousness and justice are the basis of his rule” (see Bible en français courant). The same language occurs in 89.14a. Righteousness and justice describe how God rules, in much the same way that Clouds and thick darkness describe the location of his rule. In some languages it will be more understandable to reverse the biblical order and say, for example, “He rules people in a way that is right and just, and he rules them from behind clouds and darkness.”
Fire and lightnings (verses 3, 4) are manifestations of God’s power and anger; the language used of the earth in verse 4b is identical with that used of the sea, the “deep,” in 77.16; and see also 77.18b-c. The expression Fire goes before him will require recasting in languages in which an agent who is causing the fire to move must be expressed; for example, “God sends his fire ahead of him.”
Verses 3-5 describe the effects of the LORD’s presence upon his adversaries, the earth, and The mountains. Yahweh’s power is overwhelming, and nothing or no one can resist him (see similar language in 68.2). In verse 4 the world and the earth are exact synonyms; most translations feel comfortable with using both words. The metaphor the earth sees and trembles may have to be recast as a simile; for example, “just as a person sees, the earth sees the lightning and trembles.” In languages where a simile would not serve to make the metaphor clear, it may be necessary to use a nonmetaphor; for example, “the lightning flashes on the earth, and the earth shakes.”
In verse 5 for melt like wax, see 46.6b, “the earth melts.” The translator should make certain what the basis for the comparison is in his language in the simile melt like wax; for example, some languages use “sugar” as the basis for the comparison. In verse 5a the name Yahweh is used; in verse 5b the title “lord” is used. Before the LORD means “in the presence of the LORD” or “when the LORD is near.” Lord of all the earth must often be rendered, for example, “the Lord who rules all the people of the earth.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.